Cooking passion shared

FORMER MasterChef contestant Ben Milbourne's love affair with Mexican cuisine started with his mum's packet tacos.

"It was the one thing she knew how to cook well,'' he said with a laugh.

Yesterday, Mr Milbourne shared his passion for Mexican food with a small group at Tranquilles Bed and Breakfast at Port Sorell at a special cooking demonstration.

"The love for me, it started with packet Mexican,'' he said.

"All we would eat were tacos and for me I always thought Mexican was that _ fun, summer food.''

Slipping into his former role as a teacher, Mr Milbourne guided his ``students'' through a four-course Mexican fiesta of food, complete with popcorn chicken tostadas, braised adobe beef cheek and a kingfisher tequila slammer among the delectable dishes.

"I wanted to give them an introduction to Mexican that wasn't just tacos,'' Mr Milbourne said.

"I wanted to teach them skills that were transferable, like now they know how to make the (chorizo) crumb they can use for anything.''

Mr Milbourne said he loved sharing his passion for food with other people and said he believed in a practical approach.

"Originally we were going to do a demonstration where I would be up here, showing them, with people crowding around but I think this (hands-on) is much better,'' he said.

"It gets people up and cooking and we wanted people to be so hands-on.''

Participants Claire and Dean Williams, of Shearwater, said they had learnt a lot from Mr Milbourne and said they would definitely be able to use what they had learnt at home.

"How to cook steak properly, we learnt that,'' Mrs Williams said.

"And how to season, when to season. We'll be able to take that with us on our camping trips _ we'll have the best steak at the campsite,'' she said.

Being a part of Mr Milbourne's demonstration was a real highlight for Mrs Williams, who had been given it as a birthday gift by her husband.